Looking for an EASY racer for either the 360 or PS3. Trying to get someone who has never played video games before into playing and they said a racing game would be something to try. So nothing with a lot of buttons and combos.

Ideally would be something with an arcadey feel, lots of wrecking, that kind of thing. Opinions on Flat Out for 360??

Nice to see Flatout getting some love here. It's probably one of the most underrated games on the 360. Need For Speed: Most Wanted is a great game and is pretty easy at the beginning but now that I am in the final 5...it's almost impossible. Great game though if you like to race and get chased by cops at the same time.

I also recommend Burnout Revenge. It can be difficult at times if you are going for gold in every race but if that doesn't concern you, you should be fine.

I have all of the above three and will never get rid of them. I always come back to them.

The main reason I'd suggest Burnout Revenge over Paradise is that the progression is a little more linear. I'm playing Paradise and I'm only 9% in, because driving around finding races I can do is annoying, though the open world thing is interesting (and very cool in Freeburn Online). I much preferred the "pick a race, earn enough to advance to next tier" of the previous Burnouts.
Full Auto was a pretty fun racing combat game as well.
I didn't like PGR4 at all.

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I'd actually recommend Test Drive over Full Auto and possibly Flatout. Hard to say since they are different types of games.

Who has two thumbs and spent 60 hours getting all golds?

this guy

I won't disagree with you on Full Auto since it seemed like it was half finished when released but definitely disagree over Flatout. Test Drive is too sim-y and I found the cars hard to control. I just didn't care for it at all. Flatout's destructible environments are amazing and the game is nice and linear. I don't find the controls near as floaty as I did with Test Drive and watching your driver fly out of the windshield in to a tree never, NEVER gets old.

As far as you getting all golds on Burnout...well...I have to admit that is honestly astounding. I would probably rather put a bullet thru my head than even try to attempt that...especially on the Burning Lap races. I know it would take me far longer than 60 hours to do that...and to be honest, I don't know if I could even completely accomplish it.

The main reason I'd suggest Burnout Revenge over Paradise is that the progression is a little more linear. I'm playing Paradise and I'm only 9% in, because driving around finding races I can do is annoying, though the open world thing is interesting (and very cool in Freeburn Online). I much preferred the "pick a race, earn enough to advance to next tier" of the previous Burnouts.
Full Auto was a pretty fun racing combat game as well.
I didn't like PGR4 at all.

Completely agree! Find races for Burnout Paradise sucks. Give me the old version anyday. I actually have both and when I want to play Burnout, I still reach for Revenge over Paradise every time.

I liked PGR 3 & 4 because they work great with my steering wheel. Those two are about as sim-y as I can get in racing games.

I won't disagree with you on Full Auto since it seemed like it was half finished when released but definitely disagree over Flatout. Test Drive is too sim-y and I found the cars hard to control. I just didn't care for it at all. Flatout's destructible environments are amazing and the game is nice and linear. I don't find the controls near as floaty as I did with Test Drive and watching your driver fly out of the windshield in to a tree never, NEVER gets old.

As far as you getting all golds on Burnout...well...I have to admit that is honestly astounding. I would probably rather put a bullet thru my head than even try to attempt that...especially on the Burning Lap races. I know it would take me far longer than 60 hours to do that...and to be honest, I don't know if I could even completely accomplish it.

Full Auto was a good filler game before Burnout Revenge hit the 360. The cars control like Hot Wheels, but at this point the game is so cheap I can honestly say it's probably worth picking up. It wasn't a terrible game, just not a great one.

We are on opposite ends of the spectrum on FlatOut. Those cars are basically hovercrafts they float so much. Way different than both Burnout and Test Drive. Test Drive is more of a Sim, and in that vein the cars control somewhat realistically(they're not floaty, they actually have 'weight' to them). On the flipside every track in FlatOut feels like your driving on ice because of the way the cars handle. It's still a damn fun game though and thus far the spiritual successor to Burnout Revenge despite the controls.

Criterion may have butchered the Burnout I love, but they are unparalleled in the way their cars handle. They have no equal.

As for the 'all golds' in Revenge, the game just hit at the right time. Early in the 360 life cycle and right before the summer drought(it was also the only console I owned at the time). That gave me plenty of time to sink my teeth into it. I must say though, the white hot rage I felt losing a burning lap by :001 has yet to be matched by any other game. In the end though it was worth it. Out of my nearly 50k gamerscore I think those Revenge points are the only ones that mean anything to me.

If you've got the 360, download a bunch of the demos. I think there's demos for almost all these racing games.

On second thought BigDave has it. Since this is pretty new to them and the last thing you want to do is waste money and over-whelm them get the demos first and then go for the older cheaper games. The demos will be the best way to get a taste of the controls, the overall game feel and if they like it.

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The main reason I'd suggest Burnout Revenge over Paradise is that the progression is a little more linear. I'm playing Paradise and I'm only 9% in, because driving around finding races I can do is annoying, though the open world thing is interesting (and very cool in Freeburn Online). I much preferred the "pick a race, earn enough to advance to next tier" of the previous Burnouts.
Full Auto was a pretty fun racing combat game as well.
I didn't like PGR4 at all.

I love Paradise. I'm at 99% right now (stupid x40 multiplier award) and I never have a problem driving from events. The one time I do hate the openness of the events is when I need to do a burning route across the fucking map and lose. Guess what? Gotta drive back to start. But most of the time, win or lose, I used the finish on one side of the map to start an event near it and the finish of that one would be where I started. Or if I want to drive back to downtown, just enter a road rage and drive that way. Two birds with one stone.

And now that I've unlocked all the cars, with the fastest ones it's not far away at all if you can control them lol

To the OP -I agree with K&A in that you should try some demos of these games mentioned in the thread, probably available on both consoles for the most part (don't know, only have a PS3).

Burnout Paradise, is a great racer, for people who don't race much. A few friends of mine play it, but never play racers. I'm on a huge racing kick right now, after getting a Logitec wheel.

Other good ones are Test Drive Unlimited. Midnight Club LA, and NFS Most Wanted/Carbon is good for arcadey street racing.

I will say the racer Ive put the most time in lately, is NFS Undercover. Near the end, the cop chases are insane. One event, I had 30-40 police cars involved.

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Burnout Paradise is the perfect racing game. It's arcadey enough for anybody to pick up and play, yet rewarding for those who put in the time. Finding events and restarting events is super easy for anyone willing to take minute to figure it out (press right on the D-pad...and done). It looks AMAZING. It has a ton of downloadable content. It has tons of modes beyond just racing (stunt runs, takedown, marked man, Freeburn Challenges, cops and robbers, etc.) Finally, it has an online community that is second to none.

I WILL NOT buy another racing game this generation...and would rather buy DLC for Paradise than get a full other game any day.

I'd just like to chime in and say Burnout Paradise is the racing game to own this generation if only because there's so much more to it. There's plenty to do in the game without even taking it online (something I haven't had the time to do) and it's easily one of the most fun racing games I've ever played.